Screws of Heaven
by whitejaderabbit
Summary: A collection of TentenNeji drabbles. Written as a compilation entry for NejiTen LJ community's 100 themes challenge. RR appreciated.
1. Bandages

Green Tea: A collection of drabbles for the NejiTen Community 100 themes challenge!

Disclaimer: This applies for the entire story. I don't own Naruto, but own this idea.

Disclaimer #2: Love Sonnet 116 is Shakespeare's work and will always be, forever and beyond.

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Bandages: 

Theme 56+29: Breasts and Unconditional

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_Let me not to the marriage of true minds _

_Admit impediments._

Tenten slipped out of her bed, trailing her fingers along the hardwood frame ofher bedposts. She bit back a hiss as her still-warm feet touched the cold wooden floor. Still shivering, she tip-toed to her dresser and changed out of her nightgown. Grabbing her usual pink shirt from a open drawer, she then reached for the bandages used to bind her chest.

As her fingers brushed the sterile gauze, she hesistated.

**Flashback:**

Sakura rolled her eyes as she watched Tenten change into a fresh shirt. The older girl had just finished training and the pink-haired girl promised to treat her to lunch that day. For obvious reasons,Tenten had to change before she could step into a restaurant.

"You still wear bandages?"

Tenten frowned as she adjusted her collar.  
"Yes, I always have, why?"

The younger girlchecked her hair in the mirror.  
"Well... You know, if you've got _it_, you should show it off, you know?"

Apparently pleased with her reflection, Sakura nodded before turning around to face Tenten.  
"And well, you know, I'm sure Neji wouldn't mind too much." She grinned impishly. "Quite the contrary, I should think."

Tenten flushed a brillant pink at the mention of her training partner's name, collar all but forgotten.  
"Ah... That's..."

Sakura snorted at the girls' reaction.  
"Gosh, Tenten, you may be older, but when it comes to this sort of stuff, you act like an eight-year old."

As they walked out of Tenten's apartment, Sakura smirked.  
"Well, think about it. As my mom always says, 'If you've got assets, flaunt it.'"

The brown-haired girl glanced at her friend's low cut shirt.  
_Flaunt indeed..._

**Flashback End**

_Love is not love  
Which alters when it alteration finds,  
Or bends with the remover to remove:_

The girl pondered this for a moment as she stared at the bandages...

_O no! it is an ever-fixed mark  
__That looks on tempests and is never shaken;_

before she shrugged and grabbed them anyways, winding them around her torso in a sort of savage deliberation.

This done, she slipped on her shirt and left to meet Neji at the training field.

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Green Tea: Some drabbles will be better and some will be worse, I guess. Well, that's that. Two down, 98 more to go. Reviews would be nice!


	2. Together Forever

Green Tea: WHOO! Finally updated. Was muchly busy with school and all... So I finally had the time! This idea was triggered when I was at a lovely piano concert, and it was dark, and it was romantic classical music... and... Well.. Enjoy!

Alert to NejiTen Lovers:

NEW NEJITEN FORUM (Moi ish admin)

w w w. s3. php bb for free .com/ forums/ fated heaven. html

Remove all spaces  
For lazy people, the link is my webpage in my User Profile

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Together Forever:

Theme #10: Dependent and # 28 Attachment

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He took his first sip of tea.  
And then quickly took another.

As he toys with the warm liquid in his mouth, he finds himself enjoying the exotic aroma.  
The rich flavor plays off his tastebuds and moves on throughout his body, making him shudder involuntarily.

He swallows.

Of course, his face remains emotionless as he sets the ceramic teacup on her table with a soft "chink".

She refills the cup, a smirk glazing her lips. She finds it funny that he forces himself to wait before taking another sip.  
No, that wouldn't be too good for the Hyuuga image, now would it?

He notices this and asks why she's smiling so stupidly. Not before taking another sip of tea, of course.

She brushes it off and rattles a string of excuses, none of which that make sense, before realizing that he probably doesn't care.

He took another sip, not noticing that his cup was somehow magically refilled.

The flavors are unidentifiable, one moment a tell-tale hint of jasmine, and the next a shot of tangy-sweet citrus.  
He swallows again, determined to identify the mysterious components with his next sip.

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He finally asks her for the secret one day, after numerous encounters and experiences with the elusive, yet flavorful liquid.

Still nursing her burnt finger (cheap stoves), she ponders this for a moment...

And then declines.

Unable to hide his surprise, he asks why.

Turning away, she mutters something under her breath.

He can scarely believe his ears, and yet he does.  
However, he feigns ignorance and asks her to repeat her answer.

Blushing furiously (he can tell by the tips of her ears), she refuses indignantly and then rattles off another chain of excuses.

He raises the teacup to his lips, hiding his smirk from view.

And takes another sip.

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_Because if I don't tell you, I'll always have to make it for you..._

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We'll always be together.

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Green Tea: Yay! Second shot! Reviews for moi?


	3. Moonlight

Green Tea: This came to me... Not sure... At night. I was just thinking about my own unrequited love and I was suddenly struck by this. I have to say, this drabble is one of the most personal things I've ever written. I hope you enjoy it!

Re-edited a bit... Some parts are still redundant, but, I'm trying to stay close as possible to the train of thought of a depressed person. Thoughts are a bit redundant at times, especially in times of difficulty... So I found it most realistic to keep it this way.

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Moonlight:

Theme 6+54: Beauty and Insecurity

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Tenten was not a beautiful girl, by any standards.

In physical appearance and mental intelligence, she was no match for the brilliant village flower, Haruno Sakura.  
In grace and elegance, she paled in comparison to Yamanaka Ino.

Her heart was not as pure as Hyuuga Hinata's, nor was she as strong as Temari of the Sand (her embarrassing performance at the Chuunin exams was proof).

She knew all this, all too well.

She was...

What was she?

Average.

The word stung her lips even as she mouthed it silently.  
It was such a blunt and cruel word.

What did it mean?

It meant a lack of something special.  
A lack of something that made you stand out.  
A lack of something that identified you.

In a way, it was worse than an insult.

When she was young, she was always told that everyone was special. That everyone had something beautiful within them.

_Papa... if that's so... what's beautiful about me?_

The brunette sighed. Her father had not lived long enough to ever answer her question.

_Maybe it's god's way of telling me that I'm not special._

She leaned back, letting her legs dangle over the edge of the Academy roof. She stared at the full moon, a playful night breeze tickling her cheek.

Average Tenten.

No faults.

No talent.

No beauty.

Nothing special.

Nothing.

She's just _there._

Why?

Why did she have to be average?

It's not fair.

Goddammit, she wanted to be special too!

Why couldn't she be-

Why her, of all people?

_Why me!_

Thinking this, a tear made it's way down her cheek, shining like a trail of diamonds under the pale moonlight.

The times when Tenten allowed her weaknesses to show were few and far in between, and she was surprised at willingly the tears came.

Giving up, the girl did not struggle to hold them back. Silently and secretly, the little trails of moisture rolled down her face, like tiny raindrops.

"Tenten."

Jerking up, she was on her feet in a flash, kunai raised.

"Who's there?" she demanded, hiding her wavering voice under a mask of aggressiveness.

"Below you."

She looked down.  
Her mask cracked.  
"N-Neji... W-what are you doing here?"

The Hyuuga raised one perfect eyebrow.  
"Am I not allowed to take a stroll in the streets of my own village? This _is_ a public road, and the building you're sitting on _is_ a public building."

Tenten faltered.  
"Ah... Yeah. That's right. Uhm. Never mind. Sorry."

Neji turned away and the girl took this chance to wipe away the tell-tale streaks of tears.  
"So, what is it now?"

The kunoichi almost choked.  
"Excuse me?"

The Hyuuga frowned.  
"Don't play games with me Tenten, I'm not in the mood. Why are you sitting on the roof of the Academy with that stupid depressed look on your face?"

Tenten chuckled and rubbed the back of her head.  
"A-hahaa... Well, I don't know, it's not that important anyways. I'm not depressed, I'm just spiffy!"

Neji narrowed his eyes. Tenten was being difficult again. He could always tell when she was lying, and her smile didn't reach her eyes.  
"Mn. I see. Looks like there's no choice."

In a flash of blurred movements, he was standing next to her on the roof.

Tenten was flabbergasted as he calmly sat down.

"Sit down, and stop standing there looking like a fish."

Still in shock, the girl sat down stiffly next to Neji.

"So, are you going to tell me the truth, or will I have to waste my precious time trying to coax it out of you?"

She was silent for a moment as she stared at her calloused hands, wringing them in anxiousness.

Neji closed his eyes.  
"Tenten."

And then the words came tumbling out, head over heels, like a personrolling down a mountain.  
"Neji do you think that there's something beautiful in everyone because frankly now that I think about it it's not really guaranteed by life and its possible that there are people out there that don't have something like that and that kinda sucks because it's no fun being unspecial in a world of special people youknowwhatimean?"

After this torrent, Tenten choked as she struggled to catch her breath.

She turned to watch Neji as he contemplated this, his eyes still closed.

_Did he even understand what I said?_

After a few moments, he spoke.  
"So you're having trouble finding something beautiful in yourself?"

The girl sighed and nodded silently.

There was a pregnant silence as the two sat there, Neji with his eyes still closed, and Tenten trying in vain to look anywhere but his face.

She was surprised when heard the roof tiles squeak as he stood up.

_Is he mad at me? Is he going to yell at me? I shouldn't have told him, I shouldn't have told him..._

She chanced a tiny glance at his face.

The boy was staring at the moon, somewhere far away off in the sky, as his loose Hyuuga robes rippled in the late summer breeze.

Tenten was speechless for what seemed like forever and she found that she could only stare at him. Her gazed was frozen and fixed upon his face, the gentle moonbeams basking him in an ethereal glow.

She was struck by a sort ofhypnotic feeling, watching him, watching his long raven locks dance in the breeze.

_So..._

_So... Silent..._

_So peaceful..._

_So beautiful._

Neji turned to face the dazed girl, his pale eyes glowing in the moonlight.  
"I'll help you."

Tenten was jolted out of her trance.  
"What?"

The Hyuuga turned away again.  
"I'll help you realize it. Your beauty."

The brunette's eyes widened, and she felt her eyes tear up again- when was she so prone to crying?- but they were not tears of sadness or pain.

No, they were tears of happiness, of the most happiness she's ever felt in her life. They were tears of something so soft and feather-light, tickling her heart with an indescribable touch.

"Thank you... Neji."

He grunted once in reply and the two stood there on the rooftop for what seemed like eternity of serenity.

"Tenten... I'll walk you home."

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Green Tea: Hope you liked it, and please leave a review?


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